Forebrain stem cell development, disease, and application – During mammalian forebrain development, neural stem cells (NSCs) adopt a number of unique cell fates. Two of these are the choroid plexus, the source of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and the cerebral cortex, the seat of our higher cognitive and neurologic functions. The mechanisms used to make cortical and choroid plexus cells and their borders remain fundamental questions in neuroscience. Moreover, when these structures form improperly, common disorders such as hydrocephalus, mental retardation, and epilepsy too often ensue.

The goal of our lab is to understand how these forebrain cell types are formed and separated, then apply this information to human disorders and NSC culture strategies aimed at potential cell-based therapies. Current studies focus on the roles of morphogens and transcription factors in early NSC fate control and boundary formation, and translational approaches using our recently-patented method for deriving choroid plexus epithelial cells from mouse and human embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Approaches used in the lab include cell cultures of mouse and human ESCs and NSCs, explants, mouse genetics, mouse models of human disease, in utero electroporation, cell injections, and systems biology/mathematical modeling of early forebrain development together with UCI collaborators.